Moors Murderer Ian Brady is to remain a patient at a maximum security hospital after losing his £250,000 legal bid to be transferred to a jail.

The decision following a week-long public hearing means the infamous paedophile killer will stay in Ashworth Hospital on Merseyside for the forseeable future on the grounds that he is mentally insane.

Victims' families have criticised giving Brady, 75, the opportunity to "grandstand" at the mental health tribunal, while others described the hearing as a "circus" and a "complete waste of taxpayers' money".

The tribunal was the first time Brady has been seen in public since the 1980s, when he was taken back to Saddleworth Moor in the search for the bodies of two of his victims, and the first time he had spoken in public since being jailed for life at Chester Assizes in 1966.

The decision on Brady's appeal was given by the three-man panel headed by Judge Robert Atherton, who heard the tribunal at Ashworth

Ian Brady, sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, along with his partner Myra Hindley

He said: "The tribunal has concluded that Mr Ian Stewart Brady continues to suffer from a mental disorder which is of a nature and degree which makes it appropriate for him to continue to receive medical treatment and that it is necessary for his health and safety and for the protection of other persons that he should receive such treatment in hospital and that appropriate medical treatment is available for him."

Brady, whose legal costs are estimated to be around £250,000 and paid by the taxpayer as he gets legal aid, has the right to challenge the decision, which would require a further hearing at an Upper Tribunal.